Dry electric razor with short and long hair cutters



K. BAUMANN Dec. 3, 1968 DRY ELECTRIC RAZOR WITH SHORT AND LONG HAIRCUTTEHS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 28, 1967 K. BAUMANN Dec. 3, 1968 DRYELECTRIC RAZOR WITH SHORT AND LONG HAIR CUTTERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledFeb.

3,413,718 DRY ELECTRIC RAZGR WITH SHORT AND lLQNG HAIR CUTTERS KurtBaumann, Solingen-Merscheid, Germany, assignor to Robert Krups,Solingen-Wald, Germany, a firm Filed Feb. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 619,473

Claims priority, application Germany, Mar. 3, 1966,

K 58,626 7 Claims. (Cl. 30-341) ABSTRACT or THE DISCLOSURE A dryelectric razor having reciprocating type short and long hair cutters,the long hair cutter being positioned laterally and obliquely withrespect to the short hair cutter and being extendable for use andretractable when not required and also being disconnected from theoscillating drive of the shaver when in the retracted position.

The invention relates to a dry electric razor.

In order to simplify the mechanism in certain razors that have beenproposed, the parts used for cutting long hair are arranged near thosefor cutting short hair. In known electric razors of the above type thecurved short hair cutter is arranged on a narrow side of the housing andthe cutting surfaces of the long hair cutter near them and substantiallyparallel with the longitudinal axis of the housing.

One disadvantage of known razors is that when the long hair cutter is inits effective position its extended cutting surfaces are substantiallyparallel with the adjacent area of the cutting surfaces of the shorthair cutter. Thus, when the long hair cutter is being used to cut hairsin a certain position, the short hair cutter often tends undesirably toengage and cut other hairs in another position. For instance, if thecutting surfaces of the short hair cutter are arranged parallel with andbehind those of the long hair cutter, hairs located above Where the longhair cutter is working, which should not in fact be shaved, may comeaccidentally into contact with the cutting surfaces of the short haircutter. The long hair cutter is specifically designed to make cleancuts, so that if the short hair cutter also comes into action theresulting shave is incorrect and unpleasing. Great skill and extremelycareful handling of the razor must be applied if such incorrect shavingin the region of the short hair cutter is to be avoided when using thelong hair cutter.

Another serious disadvantage is that the short hair cutter has to berelatively narrow in order to leave room in the razor for the long haircutter which is arranged beside it and parallel with the longitudinalaxis of the housing. A final drawback is that a razor of this type isvery tricky to handle when the long hair cutter is in use.

These disadvantages are overcome or substantially mitigated by thepresent invention. The problem underlying the invention is how toarrange the long hair cutter, which can be extended from the razor, insuch a way that it can be used without being impeded by the short haircutter so that the razor is easier to handle.

According to the invention there is provided a dry electric razorcomprising a housing, a reciprocating type short hair cutter, areciprocating type long hair cutter constituted by a comb blade having acutting blade mounted thereon and reciprocable with respect thereto,means for extending and retracting said long hair cutter respectivelyout of said housing to a working position and into said housing to anon-working position, an oscillating electric motor, and means fortransmitting oscillations of said motor to said short hair cutter and tosaid long hair cutter when it is in the Working position, the said longhair States Patent 3,4 l3,7l8 Patented Dec. 3, 1968 cutter beingpositioned laterally of said short hair cutter and obliquely withrespect to an adjacent portion of the short hair cutter.

According to the invention there is also provided a dry electric razorcomprising a housing, a short hair cutter, a long hair cutterconstituted by two blades arranged laterally of said short hair cutterand adapted to be brought into action and put out of action as required,the blades of the said long hair cutter being brought out of the housingof the razor when the long hair cutter is in a working position andwithdrawn into the housing when the long hair cutter is in a nonworkingposition, in which the blades of the long hair cutter, which are movedout of the housing when the cutter is in its working position, arearranged at a sharp angle and in particular obliquely to the adjacentarea of a cutting surface of the short hair cutter. With sucharrangements the cutting surfaces of the long hair cutter may bearranged to point, when it has been brought out of the housing, in adifferent direction from that of the short hair cutter. Hairs projectingover the place where the long hair cutter is at work are therefore lesslikely to be engaged by the cutting surfaces of the short hair cutter.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, where the short hair cuttingportions are arranged at the narrow end of an elongated housing, thiscan be achieved if the cutting surfaces of the long hair cutter arearranged substantially transversely to the longitudinal axis of thehousing when extended from the housing and if they can be retracted intothe housing in this transverse direction when moving into theineffective position. With the extensible cutting surfaces in thisoblique arrangement the razor can be held particularly comfortably inthe hand when using the long hair cutter, so shaving can be carried outin comfort Without any hindrance from the short hair cutter. Now withthe long hair cutter thus positioned transversely of the housing, thewhole width of the narrow side of the housing is available for thecutting surfaces of the short hair cutter.

Dry razors have been proposed in which the cutting surfaces of a longhair cutter are arranged stationary in a transverse direction andimmovably mounted on a housing top which can be removed from the mainhousing of the razor. The top may be placed on the main housing ineither of two positions away from each other. In one arrangement of thetop, the cutting portions are connected to the drive for the razor. Inthe other arrangement there is no connection with the drive. However,these dry razors have the disadvantage that the long hair cutterprojects from the housing even when it is not in use. Hence injuries caneasily be caused by the sharp edges of said cutter. This is particularlyimportant when shaving with the short hair cutter since this is asalready mentionedgenerally arranged near the long hair cutter. Thisdisadvantage is overcome in the embodiments specifically describedherein by making the long hair cutter retractable. When the long haircutter is not in use the razor has a clean outline.

The long hair cutter advantageously comprises a cutting comb, which isat rest during the shaving process, and a reciprocable cutting blademounted thereon. A particularly simple method of mounting the long haircutter in the housing of a razor according to the invention is toarrange the short-like comb blade on and in sliding contact with a baseplate which shuts off the top of the housing from the main housing. Noextra housing member is required to mount the long hair cutter in thehousing, since the base plate is provided in any case to separate thetop from the main housing.

It is advisable for the cutting blade to be pressed against the comb inthe direction of the base plate by spring loaded balls. The slidingmovement of the balls along the blade results in quiet, easy movementand minimises wear.

The long hair cutter may be adjusted by an actuating member engaging thecomb blade. As the cutting blade is attached only to the comb blade,displacement of the latter by means of the actuating member will causethe cutting blade to make the desired adjustment between the working andnon-working position of the long hair cutter. As the comb blade of thelong hair cutter is at rest even during the cutting process, the longhair cutter can easily be displaced even with the motor running.

The action of the actuating member on the comb blade to adjust the longhair cutter may be produced by various control means. One method founddesirable is to construct the actuating member in the form of a rotaryknob provided with an eccentric guiding pin and engaging in a guidinggroove in the comb blade. When the knob is turned the pin slides withinthe groove and forces the comb blade, and therefore the cutting blade,to make the desired displacement.

It has equally been found desirable to make the actuating member in theform of a sliding knob with a guiding groove engaged by the guiding pinattached to the comb blade. This control means can be recommended particularly if it is desired to use the knob also to open the top of thehousing. If the guiding groove and the recesses in the guiding membersconnected to the sliding knob are suitably shaped, the means locking thetop of the housing can easily be released.

Finally it is advisable for the long hair cutter to be coupled with thedrive of the razor only when extended and for it to be uncoupled when inthe retracted position. This avoids any unnecessary expenditure ofenergy by the long hair cutter when in its non-working position and anypremature wear on its components. Uncoupling brings the long hair cutterto rest in its non-working position.

Automatic coupling and uncoupling when extending or retracting the longhair cutter is achieved, in the embodiment specifically describedherein, by using a coupling in which a coupling pin attached to anoscillating lever of an oscillating armature motor acting as the drivehas a thickened portion at its free end, and in which the cutting bladehas a coupling recess matching the size of the thickened portion andengaging about the coupling pin. In the extended position the couplingrecess in the cutting blade automatically comes into contact with thethickened portion of the pin, thus transmitting the movement of theoscillating lever to the cutting blade. If, on the other hand, the longhair cutter is retracted into the housing, the coupling recess in thecutting blade will come to rest in the region of the narrow, centralportion of the pin. In this way the oscillating movement of the leverwill not be transmitted to the cutting blade, so in this latter positionthe cutting blade will be at rest although the motor is running.

Two examples of the invention will now be particularly described withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal section through the upper part of a dryelectric razor according to the invention, some portions being shown cutaway,

FIGURE 2 is a section along the line 11-11 in FIG. 1, looking towardsthe uppermost part of the razor, with some portions shown cut away,

FIGURE 3 is a similar view to that of FIG. 1 of a different embodimentof a razor according to the invention, with unimportant parts omitted,and

FIGURE 4 is a section along the line IVIV in FIG. 3 with unimportantparts omitted.

The upper part of a razor shown in FIG. 1 comprises a housing top part11 and a main housing 12, separated from one another by a base plate 13.

The main housing 12 includes an electric drive, of which onlyoscillating lever 14 of an oscillating armature motor (not shown) can beseen in the drawing. This lever 14 extends through an aperture in thebase plate 13 into the interior of the housing top part 11. The top part11 consists of a hinged frame 15 carrying a perforated foil 16. Insidethe top part 11 is a blade block 17. The foil 16 and blade block 17 arethe parts of the razor responsible for cutting short hair.

Transversely to the length of the housing is a cutter 18 for long hair.Its cutting parts consists of a comb blade 19 which is stationary duringthe shaving process and .1 cutting blade 20 which is reciprocated forshaving. The comb blade 19 lies against the underside of the base plate13. The cutting blade 20 is kept pressed against the comb blade 19 inthe direction of the plate 13 by a plurality of spring loaded balls 21.

The balls 21 are loaded by helical springs 22 supported on adjustablebearings 23. The bearings 23 are in the form of short screw threadedpins enabling the desired tension to be set for the springs 22.

The relatively narrow cutting surfaces 24, 25 of the comb blade 19 andcutting blade 20 project from the housing 12 of the razor through a slot28. Two guiding pins 26 are attached to the comb blade 19, each engagingin a slot 27 in the cutting blade 20. The cutting blade 20 is thusmounted solely on the comb blade 19, with which it forms a unit.

The end of the cutting blade 20 inside the housing has an angled portion29 extending over part of its width and containing a coupling recess 30.The recess 30 is engaged by a thickened portion 31 at the free end of acoupling pin 32 fixed to the side of the lever 14. in operation, themovement of the lever 14 is transmitted by way of the thickened portion31 of the pin 32 to the side walls of the coupling recess 30, therebygiving the cutting blade 20 its reciprocating movement.

At the side of the housing opposite the projecting cutting surfaces 24,25 of the long hair cutter 18 is an actuating member for moving the longhair cutter 18 out of its working position, shown in FIG. 1, into aretracted. non-working position, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2.

In the embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2 the actuating member is in the formof a rotary knob 33. The knob 33 has a guiding pin 34 mountedeccentrically from its centre of rotation and engaging in a slot 35 inthe comb blade 19.

In the extended, working position of the long hair cutter 18, shown insolid lines in FIG. 2, the pin 34 is in the lower end of the slot 35. Inthis position it is just slightly beyond the dead centre positiondefined by a plumb line through the axis of the knob 33 longitudinallyof the slot 35. In this way the long hair cutter 18 cannot accidentallybe pushed into the housing from its extended position by forces tendingto slide it.

The long hair cutter 18 is moved from its extended position into theretracted position, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2, by turning the knob33 in the direction of arrow 36. When the cutter 18 is thus retractedthe pin 34 is in the top end of the slot 35. The rotation of the knotcauses the comb blade 19 to move in the direction of arrow 37 intoposition 19, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2. As already mentioned, thecutting blade 20 is fixed to the comb blade 19 only by means of the slot27 and guiding pins 26, so it undergoes equal displacement in thedirection of arrows 38 during this inward movement of the comb. Thecutting blade 20 finally reaches position 20, shown in dotted lines inFIG. 2.

Furthermore, when the long hair cutter is in the retracted position, asshown in dotted lines in FIG. 2. coupling recess 30 of cutting blade 20is located outside the thickened portion 31 at the end of the couplingpin 32, substantially midway along the latter. As the pin 32 is thinnerhere than at the end, its oscillating movement emanating from the lever14 is not transmitted to the cutting blade 20. In the retracted positionthe cutting blade 20 will therefore be at rest although the motor isstill running.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a further example of a razor 4t Unimportant partshave been omitted for the sake or clarity. Components identical withthose in the first example carry the same references.

In the second example the actuating member controlling the displacementof the long hair cutter 18 is in the form of a sliding knob 43 engagingin a slot 41 in the housing 42. When the long hair cutter 18 is in theextended, working position, which is shown in full lines in FIG. 4, the.knob 43 is in the top end of the slot 41. When the long hair cutter 18is in its retracted, non-working position, as shown in dotted lines inFIG. 4, the knob shown in dotted lines and indicated by reference 43' isin the lower end of the slot 41.

The abovementioned movement of the sliding knob 43 in the direction ofarrow 44 in FIG. 4 is translated into a movement of the cutter 18 atright angles thereto in the direction of arrow 45 by means of a transfermember 46. The member 46 has an angular shape and one of its two limbs,that is the limb 47, is attached to the knob 43. The other limb 48contains a guiding slot 49 extending obliquely to the direction of thearrow 44 in its central portion. A guiding pin 50 fixed to the combblade 19 engages through the slot 49.

When the cutter 18 is extended the guiding pin 50 is in the lower end ofthe slot 49, as illustrated in the full line position of the members inFIG. 4; when the cutter 18 is retracted, on the other hand, the pin 50is in the top end of the solt 49 as illustrated in the dotted lineposition of the members in FIG. 4. In the retracted condition thetransfer member assumes a position 46, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4;the blade moves into position 20 and the comb into position 19'. Inorder to prevent any force acting on the long hair cutter 19 in thedirection of arrow 45 from inadvertently moving the cutter out of itsextended position into its retracted position, the ends of the slot 49are substantially perpendicular to this direction.

It is advisable for the same actuating member as adjusts the long haircutter to be used for opening the top 11 of the housing. In the case ofthe sliding knob in FIGS. 3 and 4 this could be done, for example, byproviding apertures (not shown) in the limb of the transfer member 46acting as a fastening; the apertures would then secure a closing pin tothe top of the housing in the two positions of the sliding knob shown inFIG. 4. However, if the knob is slid in the opposite direction to thatrequired to initiate the movement of the long hair cutterfor whichpurpose the slots 41 and 49 for the knob 43 and pin 50 would have to beextended beyond the length shown in FIG. 4and if the apertures in thelimb 47 of the transfer member 46 are suitably shaped. The closing pinat the top of the housing, which is usually under spring tension fromthe blade block, opens automatically.

In this last case-starting from the extended, working position of thelong hair cutter-the cutter is moved into its non-working, retractedposition by moving the knob 43 in one direction 44, whereas if the knob43 is moved in the opposite direction the top of the housing will beopened for cleaning purposes. This keeps down the number of operatingparts in the razor and simplifies their construction.

It is further advisable to provide a notch to mark the central positionof the sliding knob 43 so as to show whether the long hair cutter 18 isexactly in its extended position. For the same reason it is recommendedto provide the sliding knob 43 with a spring which will automaticallyurge said knob back out of the position for opening the top of thehousing into its central position. The various functions could beassigned differently to the abovementioned positions of the sliding knob43 and all that this would involve would be appropriate adaption of theguiding slot and recesses.

I claim:

1. A dry electric razor comprising, in combination. housing means; atransverse plate extending through said housing means and dividing thelatter into a main housing part and a top part, said main housing partbeing formed with a slot adjacent and substantially parallel to saidtransverse plate; a reciprocating short hair cutter in said to part andhaving a plane of symmetry substantially normal to said transverseplate; a reciprocating long hair cutter including a comb blade and acutting blade mounted thereon arranged in said main housing partsubstantially parallel to said plate and extendable through said slot toa working position projecting laterally from said main housing part andretractable through said slot to a nonworking position in said mainhousing part; means cooperating with said long hair cutter for movingthe same between said position thereof; and oscillating means fortransmitting reciprocation to said short hair cutter and to said longhair cutter when the latter is in said working position.

2. An electric razor as defined in claim 1, wherein said comb blade ofsaid long hair cutter abuts with one of the main faces thereof againstsaid transverse plate.

3. An electric razor as difined in claim 2, wherein said cutting bladeof said long hair cutter abuts with one of the main faces thereofagainst the other main face of said comb blade, and including resilientmeans engaging the other of the main faces of said cutting blade forpressing the latter in direction toward that transverse plate.

4. An electric razor as defined in claim 3, wherein said resilient meansincludes at least one coil spring and a ball seated at one end of saidcoil spring and pressed by the latter in engagement with said cuttingblade.

5. An electric razor as defined in claim 1, wherein said means formoving said long hair cutter comprises a knob turnably mounted in saidhousing means about an axis substantially normal to said blades of thelong hair cutter and a pin fixed to said knob eccentrically with respectto said axis and engaging in a slot formed in said comb blade.

6. An electric razor as defined in claim 1, wherein said means formoving said long hair cutter comprises an actuating member mounted insaid housing means for movement in direction of a longitudinal edge ofsaid comb blade and being formed with a groove inclined to saiddirection of movement, and a pin fixed to said comb blade and projectinginto said groove.

7. An electric razor as defined in claim 1, wherein said oscillatingmeans comprises an oscillating lever of an oscillating armature motor, acoupling pin fixed to at one end and having a thickened portion at itsfree end, said cutting blade of said long hair cutter having a couplingrecess of a complementary size to that of said thickened portion and isengageable with the latter in said active postion of said long haircutter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,917,824 12/1959 Brauss 3034.l2,574,317 11/1951 Berg 3034.1 2,331,466 10/1943 Going 3034.1 2,370,5432/1945 Jepson 30-341 2,391,695 12/1945 Flegel 3034.1 2,917,824 12/1959Brauss 3034.1 3,241,232 3/1966 Tietjens 30'34.1 3,319,334 5/1967 Bond etal 30-34.1 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,051,161 2/1959 Germany.

353,652 5/1961 Switzerland. 1,262,046 4/1961 France. 1,051,161 2/1959Germany.

827,768 6/1958 Great Britain.

967,536 8/1964 Great Britain.

353,652 3/1961 Switzerland.

MYRON C. KRUSE, Primary Examiner.

